This is from an unpublished short story that I hope to offer as a free download later this year.

Palms sweating, Coby held one hand over the doorknob he didn’t quite dare to touch. He swallowed, hoping to bring some moisture to his dry mouth. He was home, but not as triumphantly as he’d hoped. Not wearing the crown of the TV drag queen competition show for which he’d left Boston two months earlier. Instead, he was returning as a loser.

At least he wasn’t a complete failure. He’d reached the top five. But somehow that it worse than if he’d been sent home sooner.

He took a deep breath. He couldn’t just stand in the hall all day. Sooner or later, he had to enter the apartment. Then he would be in his husband’s arms again. In the one place on earth where he was completely loved.

Slowly, he opened the door and forced a smile onto his face. “Hey, honey, I’m home.”

“Coby!” Garrick hurried out of the bedroom, a confused smile on his ruddy oval face.

Coby didn’t even have a chance to drop his bags before Garrick lifted him into a bone-crunching hug.

Garrick gave Coby a searing kiss, and Coby’s grip on the bags loosened. This was why he’d come home. Garrick’s strong arms around him. Their shared hunger.

Their love.

Almost instantly, his cock grew hard. Heat rose through him, and he hitched in a breath. For two frigging months, he hadn’t been able to touch anyone. The lack of physical contact had been sheer torture, but he’d promised Garrick he wouldn’t fool around. And Coby always kept his promise.

Now he and Garrick could make up for lost time.

Garrick flicked Coby’s lips with his tongue then broke the kiss. “You are so fucking beautiful. Why didn’t you tell me you were on the way? I would have picked you up at the airport.”

“No phone calls allowed from the competition,” Coby said. “Not even when they send us home. And it was just as easy to call a cab from the airport as it would have been to call you.” Besides, I didn’t want to disappoint you over the phone. Better to do it face to face.

“I’m a princess, baby.” Coby sing-songed the words, aiming for his usual cocky confidence. It was one of the things Garrick said he loved about him, and if Coby faked being confident long enough, he would feel it. “I figured I should look the part.”

Garrick folded his arms. “That wasn’t exactly safe, was it?”

“Wearing makeup?” Coby tensed, and his hard-on deflated. He’d just come home. Surely Garrick wouldn’t start another argument about hiding and staying “safe” in public. “I was on a plane and in a cab. No one hassled me.”

“Sorry. I just worry.” Garrick wrinkled his forehead. “So they sent you home? I thought you’d be out there for another week or so. Can you tell me anything?”

“The show doesn’t air for another few months, so I can’t say much, but yeah.” Coby sighed. “I was eliminated. Made it to the top five, though. They gave me the choice of sticking around or coming back here for a few days. I have to go back at the end of the week to tape the finale, but I wanted to see you.”

His voice cracked, and he cleared his throat. No one knew how badly he’d missed Garrick, and he refused to break down now.